1. Field of the Invention
This invention is related to the field of wheeled casters for attachment to articles of furniture and the like. Such casters exhibit shock absorbing qualities to isolate these supported articles from shock.
2. Description Of The Prior Art
There have been provided in the past a number of caster assemblies, both single and dual wheeled variety. Some of these have been provided with shock absorbing properties, but these present the problems of increased caster mounting height and the necessity for the provision of initial wheel clearance which results in different appearance in loaded and unloaded states.
For instance, Herold U.S. Pat. No. 1,745,992 discloses a resilient block mounted above and ahead of a caster wheel, between a wheel yoke and mounting member.
Herold U.S. Pat. No. 2,285,656 shows a resilient mounting arrangement for a truck caster in which a cushioned device is mounted between the torsion joint assembly and the wheel structure.
Suttles U.S. Pat. No. 2,442,831 discloses a wheel mounting fork which is connected to a mounting stud through a resilient block.
Robinson et al. U.S. Pat. No. 2,830,545 relates to a heavy duty caster construction having a resilient block located between upper and lower mounting plates to allow the single caster wheel to move through a range of motion.
The patent of Melara U.S. Pat. No. 4,290,166 describes an arrangement in which a coil spring is disposed between an axle and the housing to urge the shaft into frictional engagement with the projections.
Welsch U.S. Pat. No. 4,346,498 discloses the use of a resilient spacer mounted between a wheel yoke and an upper mounting member.
Black U.S. Pat. No. 4,462,138 describes a bracket for supporting a caster in which a resilient element is disposed between an upper housing supporting the load and a lower housing which carries the axle and wheels.
Welsch et al. U.S. Pat. No. 4,485,521 illustrates a caster having a resilient member mounted above the caster wheel.